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| S. Ramaswamy, AVP-General Counsel & Company Secretary, JCB India Ltd, a speaker at the marcus evans Litigation Asia Summit 2012, on minimising the risk of potential litigation in organisations today. |
SINGAPORE, May 5, 2012 - (ACN Newswire) - "General Counsel must have various checks and balances through the legal process to minimise the risk of litigation," says S. Ramaswamy, General Counsel & Company Secretary, JCB India. Through specific training and the use of standardised templates, employees and process owners can help reduce the risk of potential litigation.
A speaker at the upcoming marcus evans Litigation Asia Summit 2012, in Singapore, 20 - 22 May, Ramaswamy discusses the importance of being prepared for unmanageable litigation cases.
- What steps does an organisation need to take to minimise the risk of litigation?
S. Ramaswamy: Litigation in India has become very complex, time consuming and expensive. The courts are currently overworked with cases which often drag on for several years. This has become a challenge for organisations and the legal team needs to minimise the possibility of litigation in order to reduce costs and time spent.
General Counsel must have various checks and balances through the legal process. The first step is having a standard template for all employees and process owners across the organisation to bring about uniformity and remove subjectivity. Nevertheless, if litigation does occur, the company will be better prepared because the documents have already been sanitised through legal.
Secondly, having a training programme in place would equip organisations that employees are responsive to helping reduce the risk of litigation. Every member of staff should be exposed to and understand the local laws and respond in a way that cannot be misrepresented. There ought to be guidelines and a standard practice of how employees should represent the brand.
- What legal cost optimisation strategies would you recommend to help cut litigation costs?
S. Ramaswamy: Legal costs are constantly increasing and organisations are finding it expensive to work with outside counsel given the budgetary constraints.
Anticipating the cost of ongoing legal cases and forecasting future litigation trends would allow organisations to approximate their legal expenses and create an internal budget for the year. It is advisable to add an extra ten per cent on the budget for uncontrollable litigation cases that may occur.
Chief Litigation Officers must be flexible and prepared for undetected cases. If an organisation in India is battling a court case say in London, it has no other option but to spend money and hire an outside law firm in London. All of these factors should be accounted for.
- What intellectual property (IP) protection strategies would you recommend?
S. Ramaswamy: Education and training of all employees within the organisation with respect to the product is extremely crucial.
Legal counsel must work closely with the employees who are generating new ideas to ensure that the information is translated and filed in the form of a patent, design, copyright or trademark. The areas which usually generate Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) within an organisation are product design, manufacturing and marketing and thus need to be adequately protected.
Being conscious of new entrants and competitors in the market is important. Adequate protection should be used against violators through the means of filing injunction to desist them from violating the IP. Also, profitable partnership with other IP owners by way of licensing, buying out IP rights and IP audits are the need of the hour which organisations can consider to constantly protect its IP.
- What upcoming developments should Chief Litigation Officers prepare for?
S. Ramaswamy: The legal space in Asia is evolving as businesses now understand the significance of IP protection. India is a fast growing economy and with many new businesses appearing, IP protection has assumed significant importance. However, we are currently falling short of staff in the patent office and struggling to keep up with the quick clearance to the amount of patents being filed.
Another crucial development in the legal sector is the vast opportunities available for foreign law firms, as they will soon be able to work in India without the need of a partnership.
- Any final comments?
S. Ramaswamy: Legal in general and IP in particular should not be viewed as a cost centre, but as an investment for organisations to reap the benefit in the long run.
About the Litigation Asia Summit 2012
This unique forum will take place at the Marina Bay Sands, Bayfront Avenue, Singapore, 20 - 22 May 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on cost-effectively managing disputes, foreign jurisdictions and the importance of building strong relationships with external counsel. For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website at www.litigationasiasummit.com/SRamaswamyInterview
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The Legal Network - marcus evans Summits group delivers peer-to-peer information on strategic matters, professional trends and breakthrough innovations.
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Please note that the summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.
Contact:
Stacey Melvin,
Journalist, marcus evans, Summits Division
Tel: + 357 22 849 400
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com
Topic: Research / Industry Report
Source: marcus evans Summits
Sectors: Daily Finance, Daily News
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From the Asia Corporate News Network
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